(Washington, DC) -- July
1 -- In anticipation of the first images to arrive from Mars in
over 20 years this Friday, the National Space Society (NSS) has
coordinated image viewing with Planet Hollywood and created a Mars
celebration website with details on nationwide activities.

"The Mars Pathfinder is one of a
number of new missions to Mars that will pave the way for human
exploration early in the next century," said David Brandt, NSS
Executive Director. "The NSS advocates eventual human settlement of
Mars, so it makes perfect sense for us to be a clearinghouse for
Mars activities around the country."

Mars activities include:

Thursday, July 3, 7:00 pm EDT:
Mars author Kim Stanley Robinson is the guest of the NSS on America
Online to discuss how Mars fiction might become fact. On AOL, use
keyword: space.

Friday, July 4, beginning at 8:30 pm
EDT:
The NSS joins Planet Hollywood patrons at 1101 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW, in Washington, DC, to watch images from Mars on the
restaurant's 15 large screens.

Monday, July 7, 7:00 pm EDT:
Mars Exploration Program Manager Donna Shirley, of NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, is the guest of the NSS on America Online to
discuss the images received so far and what it is like to manage
such an important program. On AOL, use keyword: space.

Ongoing:
Mars Party
Planning Tips, a Mars Events Calendar, Resource Center and Images
Center. Calendar listings include: Planetary Society's PlanetFest
in Pasadena from July 4 - 6; July 4th Mars activities at the South
Florida Science Museum with the National Space Society of the Palm
Beaches; July 4th family activities at the Goddard Visitor Center
in Greenbelt, Maryland; live Pathfinder viewing at the NASA Lewis
Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio; lectures provided by
Chicago-area NSS chapters, computer link-ups and rover demos at the
Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

The National Space Society is an
independent, nonprofit space advocacy organization with
headquarters in Washington, DC. Its 25,000 members and 95 chapters
around the world actively promote a spacefaring civilization. For
more information on the NSS and our future in space, visit
http://www.nss.org/.